Types of Garage Doors
Not all garage doors are created equal and deciding on what type of garage door to install can be confusing. Depending on tastes and architectural characteristics, different types of doors can come into play. In this article, we will take a quick look at the most common types of garage doors, and the modern features that come with them;
The Rolling Garage Door
The surface of the rolling door consists of slats. To open the door, the slats wrap around a steel shaft above the opening.
You can install rolling doors on small and large garages as well as on double garages. For double garages, however, you should use an electric opener.
Advantages
- Opening and closing do not require any space in front of the garage.
- The ceiling of the garage remains free and can be used as storage space.
- The metal slats offer good burglary protection.
Downsides
- Frequent winding and unwinding quickly wear down the materials.
- Opening and closing are relatively noisy.
The Overhead Door
The overhead door is mounted on rails and slides under the garage ceiling when opened. It is usually locked with a pump lock. You can open and close it electrically or manually.
Advantages
- Up-and-over doors are cheap.
- They are easy to mount.
Downside
- Opening and closing require a lot of space in front of the garage.
- They offer fairly limited burglary protection.
The Swing Garage Door
Swing doors with one or two leaves that open outwards are well suited if you want to stand out from the classic “garage look”. Of course, swing gates can be opened manually, but you have an option to install a smart opener.
Advantages
- They allow more width and height for passage.
Downside
- They require a lot of space in front of the garage.
The Sectional Garage Door
The sectional garage doors open vertically upwards and are suspended under the ceiling -they provide maximum space inside and in front of the garage. Sectional garage doors are the most common garage door installation and can be fitted in every garage door opening, and offer up to 14 cm more passage width than up-and-over doors. They typically have flexible and weather-resistant seals on all four sides to ensure optimum sealing.
Advantages
- They don't need a lot of room to open and close.
- They are perfect for small driveways.
- Solid construction provides good burglary protection.
Disadvantages
- They are slightly more expensive than other garage doors.
Garage Door Materials
Garage doors must be able to withstand many stresses. They must be windproof and weatherproof, resistant to all external influences and of course also to burglary attempts. In addition, no one wants to change their garage door regularly, so it must have a long lifespan. Finally, its appearance should not be neglected either, since the garage door occupies quite a large portion of your home’s façade. The classic materials for garage doors are steel, wood, aluminum, and plastic.
Wooden garage doors are particularly elegant, but wood requires a lot of maintenance to maintain its beautiful appearance. So why not play smart and choose a steel alternative that lasts longer, but has a wooden look? Steel is the standard material for most garage doors because it is strong and durable. The steel can additionally be painted in countless variations based on your home’s color theme.
Plastic garage doors, especially vinyl, are also particularly resistant. However, you should expect a relatively high purchase price if you opt for a vinyl garage door. If you in need of a new garage door installation the Garage Door Pros are here to serve you.
What A Smart Garage Door Can Do For Your
Have you ever left your house or gone to bed wondering if you closed the garage door? Rolling over or getting out of bed is no fun. If you make your garage door smart, you can close it from anywhere, among other benefits.
Smart garage openers can save you a lot of anxiety. Instead of asking if you remembered to close your garage, you can check from an app or ask a voice assistant, like Google Assistant or Alexa. Combined with a camera, you can even see who's coming and going, which can be especially useful if you're a parent. You can even schedule a daily closing time at the end of the day, so you don't have to worry if you forget to lock the garage door.
Smart garage doors also come with traditional remotes for your car and keypads for outside your garage. Smart functions are just an additional option.
For a smart garage door opener to work well, you need a stable Wi-Fi signal in your garage. And you may need to replace or add hardware.
How To Make Your Existing Door Opener Smart
If you’re current – not so smart – garage door is working just fine, in good condition and you don’t intend to replace it, you can still make it smart.
If you have a Chamberlain, get Chamberlain's Hub
You may already have a Chamberlain (or LiftMaster, which is owned by Chamberlain) garage door opener, but it's just not Wi-Fi enabled. In that case, you should consider Chamberlain's Wi-Fi-activated Garage Hub. The hub offers one of the least expensive options for adding smart home capabilities to your garage door opener.
You should check your model number against Chamberlain's compatibility tool. As long as you bought it after 1993 and your safety sensors are working, you can probably add the Hub. And if your security sensors aren't working, you should fix them right away.
Chamberlain's Hub effectively transforms your existing garage door opener into one of the company's smart garage door openers. You get the same features and capabilities and access to the Chamberlain myQ app.